Slovakia is a mountainous country located in Central Europe. It has a population of over 5.4 million people, most of whom are Slovak. The country is ethnically diverse and has significant Hungarian and Roma populations. Slovakia is a member of both the EU and NATO and uses the euro as its currency. Automobiles are a major industry and the country remains heavily forested with mountains like the High Tatras and rivers like the Danube defining its landscape and history.

1. SLOVAKIA

2. SLOVAKIA
• Slovakia is a country in Central Europe with population of over 5,4 million people. The
president of Slovakia is Zuzana Čaputová
• 83% of population are Slovaks, 8% are Hungarians and 8,5% are other nationalities.
• Slovakia is a part of EU and NATO and Euro is the currency of Slovakia since 2009.
• It is also the member of Visegrad group.
• The main industrial sectorn in Slovakia is automotive industry with 48% of slovakian
industrial output.

3. NATURE
• Slovakia is a mountainous country, 41% of surface area is covered by forests. The largest
river is the Danube
• The two major lowlands are- Danubian Lowland (Podunajská Nížina) and Eastern Slovak
Lowland (Východoslovenská nížina).
• The largest mountains are The High Tatras in the north with the largest peak in Slovakia-
Gerlachovský Štít (2655 meters). Another symbolic peaks are Kriváň and Lomnický Štít.
• South of High Tatras lie Lower Tatras with a very iconic peak- Kráľova Hoľa. Ďumbier is
the highest peak in The Lower Tatras.

4. NATURE
• In Slovakia there are hundreds of caves under the mountains. 30 of them are opened to public. 5 of t
UNESCO world heritage status. There are 2 ice caves in Slovakia- Dobšiná Ice Cave and Demänovská Ice
• The longest river in Slovakia is Váh (403km).
Other famous rivers are- Orava, Hron, Ipeľ
etc.

5. HISTORY
• The oldest surviving human artefacts from Slovakia are found near Nové Mesto
nad Váhom and are dated at 270,000 BCE.
• In the Iron Age Celts settled in Slovakia. After Germanic invasions in the 1st
century AD they left.
• After the fall of Roman Empire, Slavs settled in Central and Eastern Europe. In
623 Samo´s empire was found and lasted until 804 AD.
• Mojmír I unified the Slavic tribes in 830 and turned the Municipality of Nitra
founded by Pribina (in 828 it had the first known christian church in Slovakia)
into the Great Moravia.
• Great Moravia was strongest during the reign of Svätopluk in 9th century.
Great Moravia fell after death of Svätopluk when his sons divided the empire.
• Saints Cyril and Methodius from Thessalonike in Byzantine Empire were
sent by the byzantine emperor Michal III after Duke Rastislav´s request.

6. HISTORY
• Cyril invented Glagolitic script (the first slavic alphabet)
and translated gospel into the Old Slavonic language.
• Slavic lands in Slovakia were invaded by Magyar tribes
and Kingdom of Hungary was founded. Slovaks were ruled
by Hungarians until 1918 when Austria-Hungary
collapsed.
• Relative peace was interrupted in 13th by invasion of
Mongols in 1241.
• Bratislava became the new capital of Hungary in 1536
after Turkish invasion. Hungary and Slovakia then became
the part of Austrian Habsburg monarchy.
• In 19th century relations between Slovaks and Hungarians
deteoriated as the result of Magyarization,

7. HISTORY
• After 1918 Slovakia was a part of Czechoslovakian republic which was
dissolved in 1938 and Slovakia became a puppet state of Nazi Germany.
During the WWII period Slovakia was ruled by Jozef Tiso
• In 1945 Czechoslovakia was restored and became a communist state in
1948.
• After the Prague Spring in 1968, Czechoslovakia was invaded by Warsaw
Pact forces.
• Communism rule ended in 1989 following the Velvet Revolution.
• Czechoslovakia was dissolved in 1993 and independent Slovak Republic
joined EU and NATO in 2004.

8. CULTURE
• Folk tradition has rooted strongly in Slovakia and is reflected
in literature, music, dance and architecture. The Slovakian
anthem is Nad Tatrou Sa blýska.
• The traditional Smeals are bryndzové halušky, bryndzové
pirohy, kapustnica cabbage soup. Bryndza is a salty cheese
made of sheep milk.
• One of the most popular sports in Slovakia is Hockey. The
most recent success was a silver medal in 2012 in IIHF World
Championship in Helsinki.

9. CITIES
• The largest and capital city of Slovakia is Bratislava with 470k
population and a lot of historical buildings. Notable historical places
are for example- Bratislava Castle, Devín Castle, St Martin´s Cathedral
and more. Gerulata roman camp is listed in UNESCO cultural heritages.
• The second largest city is Košice with 230k population. Košice has a
preserved historical centre with the largest church in Slovakia- St
Elizabeth´s Cathedral.
• Trnava has a lot of churches within the historical centre and is often
called „Little Rome“. Another large cities are- Nitra, Banská Bystrica,
Prešov and Trenčín.

10. UNESCO CULTURAL HERITAGE
SITES
• Banská Štiavnica- the oldest mining town in Slovakia. There were rich deposits of gold
and silver but they were depleted in 19th century.
• Spišský Hrad- the largest castle in Central europe. The site includes well-preserved
buildings from 13th and 14th century in Romanesque and Gothic styles.
• Vlkolínec- is a traditional European settlement in a mounatinous area. The village has
43 traditional log houses.
• Caves of Slovak Karst- a system of 712 caves in Slovakia and Hungary.
• Bardejov town centre- the city plan dates back to 13th and 14th century. The town of
Bardejov was located close to an important trade route with Poland across the
Carpathians.
• Ancient Beech forests of the Carpathians- undisturbed area of beech forests in the far
east of Slovakia.
• Carpathian Wooden Churches- these churches were built between the 16th and 18th
centuries.
• The Danube Limes- a network of ancient fortifications which protected the border of
Roman Empire.

11. Banská Štiavnica-
Spišský Hrad-
Vlkolínec-
Slovak Karst caves-
Bardejov-
Carpathian beech
forests-
Carpathian wooden
churches-
Danube Limes-